She Remembers
by Gremblin
Summary: At first, Norma remembers, Once-ler was a good man. A sweet man.


At first, Norma remembers, Once-ler was a good man. A sweet man.

She remembers when she first met him, walking home from picking up some groceries for her mother. Her father's boss had been coming over for supper that night in the hopes that maybe the man would finally give Norma's father the promotion that he'd been wanting and working for. Once-ler had been in the park for the first time that day, trying to get people to pay attention to him, listen to him, buy one of his Thneeds, by singing and playing his guitar. He hadn't been doing very well, and Norma had needed to get home quickly. She'd had every intention of passing him by while paying him nearly as much attention as everyone else was giving him: none. Something about Onceler had caught her attention though and made her stop and watch him.

She'd spent a half hour, standing there watching him and listening to him sing. She hadn't wanted one of the things he was selling, but she'd offered him one of the apples meant for the cobbler her mother wouldn't have enough time to make for dessert when he'd finally sat down to take a break. She'd been about to sit down and talk with him, try and cheer him up a little bit, but her brother had ran up and started dragging her home before she could.

The next day she'd came back, though, and listened to him sing. Watched as one of her neighbours had hit him in the face with a Tomato. Norma had given Mr. Helms a good telling off for that and made a good portion of the people leave after she finished yelling at him.

Once-ler hadn't seemed too pleased that she'd made the crowd disperse but she'd apologized by offering her handkerchief to clean his face off with and asking to buy his Thneed. She didn't really want it but the way his face had instantly lit up into a huge smile had made her stomach flutter and made a small honest smile creep it's way onto Norma's own face.

Every day after that she'd made sure to be in the park, watching him play, wearing her Thneed around her neck just like Once-ler wore his. Silently supporting him, smiling at him and giving him an encouraging word when she thought he needed it.

Later, Norma remembers, he was still a good man. He was still sweet, but quite busy with collecting the Truffula tree tufts and knitting Thneeds as quickly as he could until he had enough money to build a factory.

She'd helped him however she could. She took orders for him, kept the people from town from bothering him too much. Made sure he didn't forget to eat. Helped him fall asleep when he had trouble.

After Once-ler's family arrived, Norma remembers, is when he started changing from the good man she'd met into the man that killed all the trees.

The day that Once-ler's family arrived in their RV had been the six-month anniversary of the day that Norma and Once-ler had started dating and the eleven day anniversary since they'd shyly agreed to both live, together, in Once-ler's home in the forest. It had been nearly a month since Once-ler had called his family asking for their help and the two of them had been starting to think that maybe they weren't coming.

Norma hadn't minded the idea of them not ever coming, but it had seemed to make Once-ler sad so she hadn't told him.

She'd been in town when they arrived, buying some food to fill Once-ler's fridge with. When she'd gotten back, though, she'd immediately been accosted by his Aunt Grizelda and Mother, who she hadn't even been introduced to. They'd nearly managed to force her backwards into the river before the Lorax managed to get Once-ler's attention onto her return before the two women agreed to leave her alone.

It had surprised her when Once-ler had introduced her as his Fiancee, sneakily slipping a ring onto her finger without any of his family noticing. She'd easily hidden her surprise with an honestly happy smile, taking the arm that Once-ler had loosely wrapped around her waist and made him hold her tighter.

She had never even given a passing thought to telling his family otherwise. Her parents hadn't approved but she hadn't cared. She was happy.

Norma had held her tongue on what she'd thought about Once-ler's family. She could see that he was happy to see them and he _did_ need the help. She'd wished someone would make his older brothers stop playing catch with the Barbaloots, the poor things had started to avoid coming around to visit and she'd missed their company.

Once the Thneed factory was built, Norma remembers, is when things started going downhill even faster.

Once-ler hadn't needed her to work for him anymore. He'd hired people to take orders for him, to help him level the budget, keep the Thneeds rolling out in droves. All he'd wanted her to do for him, he'd told her, was to enjoy the easy life he was able to give to the best wife he could've ever asked for.

She'd still loved him, and she'd known he still loved her, but she'd noticed every time he'd had a moment to himself, a moment to slow down a little, a moment to finally, _finally_, look outside and notice the damage his broken promise was doing to the Truffula forest, his mother or aunt would come bustling in with something for Once-ler to be busy with. Every day by the time he crawled into bed beside her he was usually too exhausted to do much more than snuggle with her, forget having a long conversation with.

Norma had contented herself with making sure that despite what Once-ler's family tried some of the profits from the Thneeds went to helping the animals of the forest survive. Once a week Norma had been sure to go outside, search out and spend time with the animals that weren't able or willing to risk getting closer to the factory where she and Once-ler lived to visit them. At first she'd tried to get her husband to come with her but after the tenth time that one of his family members had waylaid Once-ler with something that needed his attention right at that moment she'd given up.

She collected the fallen seeds from the Truffula trees in a jar, saving them from being squashed and broken underneath the wheels of the tree-chopping machines, planning for a day she hoped, prayed, would never come.

The last birthday she spent with Once-ler, Norma remembers, is one she'll never forget.

It had been three weeks after the last Truffula tree fell. One week since the tufts from the trees that had been collected ran out. Two weeks since the last of the animals had disappeared. Four days since Once-ler's family had left.

She'd been saving the seeds she'd been collecting over the long seven years of her marriage to Once-ler, to show to him on a special day. On a day that she wanted him to be his old happy self again.

Norma had found him in his office, sitting slumped over his desk. The jacket he loved so much was rumpled, his hair a mess, his hat lost to a corner of the room.

She'd wrapped the jar with fancy paper she'd picked out special for the occasion. When she'd gently placed the jar on the desk he hadn't reacted at all, his eyes staring blankly at the wall in front of him.

"Honey?" Norma had said, touching his shoulder. "I know this is backwards from usual on birthdays but I got you something." She'd pushed the jar in front of him, where it blocked his view of whatever memory he was watching on the wall.

"I don't want it." he'd mumbled unhappily, pushing it away.

Norma had sighed quietly. "Open it anyways. It'll cheer you up, I promise."

Then Once-ler had stood up, grabbing her arms and shoving her away from him. "I _don't want it!_" he'd shouted at her. "Nothing you can do will make things better again! I've ruined _everything_!" then, in his anger Norma will always swear, because the man she'd married would never hurt her – would never hurt _anyone_, grabbed the jar from where it sat on his desk and thrown it at her.

Norma had barely gotten out of the way in time and the jar had shattered not on her skull but instead on the wall behind where she'd stood a moment before. It hadn't taken even a single thought for her to immediately start running, to leave the home she'd lived in with Once-ler. She'd promised her mother, her father, her brother, her_self_ that if she got into a relationship with a man that tried to hurt her she'd not be one of those women that made excuses for him.

So she didn't.

She ran as fast as she could, got into her car and left, not caring if Once-ler noticed the pink paper underneath the green she'd put on the outside. Not waiting to see if her husband noticed the small plastic stick with two lines on it that had been taped to the jar.

The future, Norma knows, can hold anything.

She sits in her chair in her bedroom, the door open. From the living room she can hear Ted talking animatedly with the man only she knows is his Grandfather. Ted's mother, Pippy, has taken to inviting Once-ler over for Sunday dinner. Neither Ted nor Pippy have connected Once-ler with the man in the old faded pictures of Norma and her ex-husband. Norma doesn't know if Once-ler knows that Pippy is his daughter but he hasn't said anything.

There _have_ been a few moments where Once-ler and Norma are alone for one reason or another and he'll look like he's about to say something. Something always happens that stops him though.

The first day of winter Norma pulls out her Thneed, frayed in places from long use but still as warm and soft as the day she'd first bought it. She wears it as she sits outside that night, enjoying the brief glimpses of stars through the smog that's still not completely gone from the sky.

When Once-ler comes outside on Pippy's orders to bring Norma back inside, Norma very carefully doesn't notice as his eyes immediately start tearing up a little. She doesn't say anything when he sits down on the porch swing next to her. In return he says nothing when she takes his arm after a few long minutes and puts it over her shoulders. He also purposely doesn't notice when she scoots closer to him, leaning gently into his side.

It's only practical, they'll both shamelessly explain later to Pippy and Ted upon being caught, to sit close and share their body heat. It's cold after all and they wanted to see the stars they hadn't seen since their own youth so long ago.

:::::::::

And that's the end, it's all I've got. I don't have any more. I've not.


End file.
